Editing History of Greenland (section)

==Danish recolonisation==
{{main|Danish colonization of Greenland}}
Most of the old Norse records concerning Greenland were removed from [[Trondheim]] to [[Copenhagen]] in 1664 and subsequently lost, probably in the [[Copenhagen Fire of 1728]].<ref name="nabob">Keller, Christian. "[http://www.nabohome.org/postgraduates/theses/ck/chapter2.pdf The Eastern Settlement Reconsidered. Some analyses of Norse Medieval Greenland]". Accessed 10 May 2012.</ref> The precise date of rediscovery is uncertain because south-drifting icebergs during the [[Little Ice Age]] long made the eastern coast unreachable. This led to general confusion between [[Baffin Island]], Greenland, and [[Spitsbergen]], as seen, for example, in the difficulty locating the [[Frobisher Bay|Frobisher "Strait"]], which was not confirmed to be a bay until 1861. Nonetheless, interest in discovering a [[Northwest Passage]] to Asia led to repeated expeditions in the area, though none were successful until [[Northwest Passage#Roald Amundsen|Roald Amundsen]] in 1906 and even that success involved his being iced in for two years. [[Christian I of Denmark]] purportedly sent an expedition to the region under [[Hans Pothorst|Pothorst]] and [[Didrik Pining|Pining]] to Greenland in 1472 or 1473; [[Henry VII of England]] sent another under [[John Cabot|Cabot]] in 1497 and 1498; [[Manuel I of Portugal]] sent a third under [[Gaspar Corte-Real|Corte-Real]] in 1500 and 1501. It had certainly been generally charted by the 1502 [[Cantino map]], which includes the southern coastline.<ref name="nabob"/> The island was "rediscovered" yet again by [[Martin Frobisher]] in 1578, prompting King [[Frederick II of Denmark]] to outfit a new expedition of his own the next year under the Englishman [[James Alday]]; this proved a costly failure.<ref name="nabob"/> The influence of English and Dutch [[whaling|whalers]] became so pronounced that for a time the western shore of the island itself became known as "Davis Strait" ({{langx|nl|Straat Davis}}) after [[John Davis (English explorer)|John Davis]]'s 1585 and 1586 expeditions, which charted the western coast as far north as [[Disko Bay]].<ref>''Inter alia'', cf. [[Permanent Court of International Justice]]. "[http://www.icj-cij.org/pcij/serie_AB/AB_53/01_Groenland_Oriental_Arret.pdf Legal Status of Eastern Greenland: Judgment] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511135249/http://www.icj-cij.org/pcij/serie_AB/AB_53/01_Groenland_Oriental_Arret.pdf |date=2011-05-11}}". 5 Apr 1933. Accessed 10 May 2012.</ref>
[[File:Merchant Flag for Whaling in Greenland.png|left|thumb|Merchant Flag for Whaling in Greenland]]
Meanwhile, following Sweden's [[Swedish war of liberation|exit from the Kalmar Union]], the remaining states in the personal union were reorganised into [[Denmark-Norway]] in 1536. In protest against foreign involvement in the region, the Greenlandic [[polar bear]] was included in [[Coat of arms of Denmark|the state's coat of arms]] in the 1660s (it was removed in 1958 but remains part of the royal coat of arms). In the second half of the 17th century [[Netherlands|Dutch]], [[Germany|German]], [[France|French]], [[Basque Country (historical territory)|Basque]], and Dano-Norwegian ships hunted [[bowhead whale]]s in the [[pack ice]] off the east coast of Greenland, regularly coming to shore to trade and replenish drinking water. Foreign trade was later forbidden by Danish monopoly merchants.

[[File:Old Greenland 1747.jpg|thumb|A 1747 map based on Egede's descriptions, including many geographical errors common to the time]]
From 1711 to 1721,<ref name="BibNar">Del, Anden. "[http://www.ilisimatusarfik.gl/Portals/0/Ekstern/Generelt/Dokumenter/Gr%C3%B8nland%20som%20del%20af%20den%20bibelske%20fort%C3%A6lling%20-%20Ph.d.-afhandling.pdf ''Grønland som del af den bibelske fortælling – en 1700-tals studie''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120715044721/http://www.ilisimatusarfik.gl/Portals/0/Ekstern/Generelt/Dokumenter/Gr%C3%B8nland%20som%20del%20af%20den%20bibelske%20fort%C3%A6lling%20-%20Ph.d.-afhandling.pdf |date=2012-07-15}}" ["Greenland as Part of the Biblical Narrative &ndash; a Study of the 18th-Century"]. {{in lang|da}}</ref> the Norwegian cleric [[Hans Egede]] petitioned King [[Frederick IV of Denmark]] for funding to travel to Greenland and re-establish contact with the Norse settlers there. Presumably, such settlers would still be [[Roman Catholicism|Catholic]] or even [[Norse religion|pagan]] and he desired to establish a mission among them to spread the [[Danish Reformation|Reformation]].<ref name="Cranny">Cranz, David & al. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=L1pO_46g8OkC&pg=PA258 The History of Greenland: Including an Account of the Mission Carried On by the United Brethren in That Country]''. Longman, 1820.</ref> Frederick permitted Egede and some Norwegian merchants to establish the [[Bergen Greenland Company]] to revive trade with the island but refused to grant them a monopoly over it for fear of antagonizing [[Dutch Republic|Dutch]] whalers in the area.<ref name="ole!">Marquardt, Ole. "[https://books.google.com/books?id=FZQcjsSitEcC&pg=PA149 Change and Continuity in Denmark's Greenland Policy]" in ''The Oldenburg Monarchy: An Underestimated Empire?''. Verlag Ludwig (Kiel), 2006.</ref> The [[Royal Mission College]] assumed authority over the mission and provided the company with a small stipend. Egede found but misidentified the ruins of the Norse colony, went bankrupt amid repeated attacks by the Dutch, and found lasting conversion of the migrant [[Kalaallit people|Inuit]] exceedingly difficult. An attempt to found a royal colony under Major [[Claus Paarss]] established the settlement of [[Godthåb]] ("Good Hope") in 1728, but became a costly debacle which saw most of the soldiers mutiny<ref name="Cranny"/> and the settlers killed by [[scurvy]].<ref name="jeangenie">Mirsky, Jeannette. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=PfPazd8rSUkC&pg=PA218 To the Arctic!: The Story of Northern Exploration from Earliest Times]''. Univ. of Chicago Press, 1998.</ref> Two child converts sent to Copenhagen for the coronation of [[Christian VI of Denmark|Christian VI]] returned in 1733 with [[smallpox]], devastating the island. The same ship that returned them, however, also brought the first [[Moravian church|Moravian missionaries]], who in time would convert a former [[angekok]] (Inuit shaman), experience a revival at their mission of [[Neu-Herrnhut|New Herrnhut]], and establish [[Moravian missions in Greenland|a string of mission houses along the southwest coast]]. Around the same time, the merchant [[Jacob Severin]] took over administration of the colony and its trade, and having secured a large royal stipend and full monopoly from the king, successfully [[Battle of Jakobshavn|repulsed the Dutch]] in a series of skirmishes in 1738 and 1739. Egede himself quit the colony on the death of his wife, leaving the Lutheran mission to his son [[Paul Egede|Poul]]. Both of them had studied the [[Kalaallisut language]] extensively and published works on it; as well, Poul and some of the other clergy sent by the Mission College, such as [[Otto Fabricius]], began wide-ranging study of Greenland's flora, fauna, and meteorology. However, though kale, lettuce, and other herbs were successfully introduced, repeated attempts to cultivate wheat or clover failed throughout Greenland, limiting the ability to raise European livestock.<ref name="BibNar"/>

As a result of the [[Napoleonic Wars]], Norway was ceded to [[Sweden]] at the 1814 [[Treaty of Kiel]]. The colonies, including Greenland, remained in Danish possession. The 19th century saw increased interest in the region on the part of polar explorers and scientists like [[William Scoresby]] and Greenland-born [[Knud Rasmussen]]. At the same time, the colonial elements of the earlier trade-oriented Danish presence in Greenland expanded. In 1861, the first [[Greenlandic language|Greenlandic-language]] journal was founded. Danish law still applied to only the Danish settlers, though. At the turn of the 19th century, the northern part of Greenland was still sparsely populated; only scattered hunting inhabitants were found there.<ref>Nationalmuseet of Denmark. "[http://www.natmus.dk/sw18658.asp Thule] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070313215205/http://www.natmus.dk/sw18658.asp |date=2007-03-13}}".</ref> During that century, however, Inuit families immigrated from [[British North America]] to settle in these areas. The last group from what later became Canada arrived in 1864. During the same time, the northeastern part of the coast became depopulated following the violent 1783 [[Lakagígar]] eruption in Iceland.

Democratic elections for the district assemblies of Greenland were held for the first time in 1862–1863, although no assembly for the land as a whole was allowed. In 1888, a party of six led by [[Fridtjof Nansen]] accomplished the first land crossing of Greenland. The men took 41 days to make the crossing on skis, at approximately 64°N latitude.<ref>Farley Mowat, ''The Polar Passion: The Quest for the North Pole''. McClelland and Stewart, 1967, pp. 199-222</ref> In 1911, two [[Landsting (Greenland)|Landstings]] were introduced, one for northern Greenland and one for southern Greenland, not to be finally merged until 1951. All this time, most decisions were made in [[Copenhagen]], where the Greenlanders had no representation. Towards the end of the 19th century, traders criticised the Danish trade monopoly. It was argued that it kept the natives in non-profitable ways of life, holding back the potentially large fishing industry. Many Greenlanders however were satisfied with the ''status quo'', as they felt the monopoly would secure the future of commercial whaling. It probably did not help that the only contact the local population had with the outside world was with Danish settlers. Nonetheless, the Danes gradually moved over their investments to the fishing industry.

By 1911, the population was about 14,000, scattered along the southern shores. They were nearly all Christian, because of the missionary efforts of Moravians and especially [[Hans Egede]] (1686–1758), a Lutheran missionary called "the Apostle of Greenland". He founded Greenland's capital Godthåb, now known as Nuuk. His grandson [[Hans Egede Saabye]] (1746–1817) continued the missionary activities.<ref>Eve Garnett, ''To Greenland's Icy Mountains; the Story of Hans Egede, Explorer, Coloniser, Missionary'' (London: Heinemann. 1968)</ref>
In 1951, the Danish authorities initiated a social experiment aimed at creating a new elite in Greenland. As part of this project, 22 children between the ages of five and eight were sent from Greenland to Denmark to learn the Danish language and culture, with the intention that they would later return and serve as a link between the two societies.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2021-11-23 |title=Greenland's Inuit seek Denmark compensation over failed social experiment |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-59382793 |access-date=2025-04-17 |language=en-GB}}</ref>  

Upon arrival in Denmark, the children were deprived of contact with their families and placed in foster homes or orphanages. Two years later, 16 of them returned to Greenland, but instead of being reunited with their relatives, they were placed in an orphanage, and many never saw their families again. This experience caused severe damage to their mental health and cultural identity.<ref>{{Cite news |last=France-Presse |first=Agence |date=2022-03-10 |title=Denmark PM says sorry to Greenland Inuit taken for ‘heartless’ social experiment |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/10/denmark-pm-says-sorry-to-greenland-inuits-taken-for-heartless-social-experiment |access-date=2025-04-17 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>